Tracy High turns back Tokay

Kevin Niendorf game reports the 57-48 Tracy High win Friday against Tokay High.

Sierra High over Weston Ranch

Thomas Lawrence game reports the Sierra High 53-51 win Friday over Weston Ranch.

Formaker taking leave

A Joe Davidson tweet: "Franklin BB coach Jesse Formaker taking break from teaching/coaching to be w young son Chris, diagnosed w bone cancer. Chris in good spirits."

Wishing all the best to the entire Formaker family.

Alexander with 17, Briggs with 15

From the Casper Tribune:

"The Casper College men's basketball team shot just 33.3 percent from the field Friday and Gillette College pulled away for a 90-77 victory at Swede Erickson Thunderbird Gym.

The T-Birds (15-6, 3-4 Region IX North) trailed just 37-35 at the half, but couldn't overtake the Pronghorns (19-4, 5-2).

Hakeem Rogers scored 23 points to lead Casper College, with Dylan Alexander adding 17 and Shon Briggs 15."

Friday's Nor Cal JC game scores

Below are scores from Friday's games involving northern California JC teams:

* Yuba College 105 - Mendocino College 77

Via Yuba College Men's Basketball:

"Yuba College defeats Mendocino College 105 -77. 5th time that the 49'ers have gone over the 100+ in conference. Yuba improves to 10-1 in the BVC. Because Mendocino decided to double and triple team Manny Malou every time he touched it our other shooters were left wide open and Vasilje Saraba finished with 30 points, Barry Ogalue had 21 and Jojo Zamora tallied 19. Malou finished with a hard fought 6 points, 10 rebs and 6 blocks."

Kirk Barron game reports.

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*  Skyline College 76 - Cañada College 70 box

For CC, Manny Martin was extra large with 22 points plus 20 boards.

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* Cosumnes River College 61 - Diablo Valley College 56 box

For CRC, Mitchell (Burbank High) Love led with 19 points and also enjoyed six boards.

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* Chabot College 70 - San Francisco City College 67

Via Chabot Men's Basketball:

Chabot starts fast and pulls out a nail-biting victory over City College of San Francisco 70-67. CCSF had numerous tries to tie it at the end but Chabot's defense would give up no easy looks.
Very balanced effort tonight with numerous players making big plays. Khalil James made the go ahead bucket as the shot clock expired, and Shanquel Watson made 1-2 free throws to put the Gladiators up 3 with 10 seconds left. Chabot is now tied for 1st in Conference with a 5-2 record! 

Shanquel Watson 14 (three 3's)
Khalil James 11
Raymond Baldwin 11
Adrian Crump 9
Shane Haley 8 (two 3's)
DeCarlos Frank 7
Austin Medeiros 4
Kellen Sweetwyne 4
Terrence Simon 2

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* Contra Costa College 68 - Solano College 54

Via Contra Costa College Men's Basketball:

"The Comets defeated Solano College 68-54 picking up a solid road win. The Comets jumped to an 18 point lead at half and held Solano off for the duration of the game. G Tajai Johnson led the Comets with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. G Dawson Johnson added 17 points and 3 assists. The Comets now stand at 10-11 overall and 7-4 in Bay Valley Conference play."

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* College of Marin 69 - Napa Valley College 62 OT

From the Marin Independent Journal:

"Pierre Carter led the way with 18 points and the College of Marin men's basketball team pulled out a 69-64 overtime win at home against Napa on Friday night for its seventh victory in a row.

COM (19-3, 10-1 Bay Valley Conference) struggled offensively at times, most notably scoring just 17 points in the second half before getting 17 in the five-minute overtime.

"We're getting everyone's best game right now," COM coach Dave Granucci said. "Napa played really well and we couldn't make a shot. We probably shot 25 percent throughout the game."

Luke Chavez scored 15 for the Mariners and Neal Chavez added 10 against Napa (8-14, 3-8). Brandon Kenilvort, playing with the flu, played big minutes and made a free throw to force overtime.

"Milton Jackson played really well defensively and made some plays down the stretch for us in the overtime," Granucci said."

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* Monterey Peninsula College 73 - DeAnza College 58 box

From MPC Men's Basketball: "Gritty win by the Lobos on the road at Deanza 73-58. Mitch Wood led the way with 17 pts and 14 rebs."

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* Santa Rosa Junior College 65 - Modesto Junior College 52 (MJC led 34-31 at the half)

Ron Agostini game reports.

For SJJC: Davone Oliver 22 (seven treys), Corey Hammell 11, Markel Leonard 10, Molefi Thompson 9, Siaan Rojas 6, Parker Farris 5, Arnold Silva 2.

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* Cabrillo College 94 - Hartnell College 77

From Cabrillo College Men's Basketball:

"The Seahawks took to the road for the 3rd consecutive game to start the 2nd round of conference play against Hartnell College. Cabrillo enjoyed a convincing win versus Hartnell in early January and tonight would be very similar to end the month.

Hartnell knocked down a three to start the game. Cabrillo scored the next 11 points and the game never got close. Coach Tony Marcopulos inserted Johann Schmidt into the starting lineup and his effort was contagious for the entire night. Cabrillo played with a great deal of energy throughout the game, dominating the boards, sharing the ball and getting out in transition for easy scores. Latrell Wilson had a big first half scoring 20 before the break, along with Allen Wilcher's 13 Cabrillo held a 50-29 advantage.

The 2nd half Hartnell shoot the ball well from deep keeping the game from getting out of hand but the outcome was never in jeopardy. Cabrillo's lead got up to as many as 26 before Coach Marcopulos began to empty his bench to give his starters plenty of rest. As the final horn sounded Cabrillo walked away with a 94-77 victory. Seth Warfield came off the bench and scored 11 points in the 2nd half, Wilson finished with a game high 31, Wilcher had 18 and Zavon Jackson added 13 for the Seahawks."

Hyrim (San Benito High) Miskin finished with 25 points for HC.

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* Los Medanos College 81 - College of Alameda 70 box

For LMC, Wayne Englestad tallied 31 points, shooting 9-27 from long distance.

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* West Valley College 67 - Gavilan College 60

Via Gavilan Basketball: "Wyatt Madrid with 18 points to lead the Rams."

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* San Joaquin Delta College 66 - Sierra College 63 box

For SJDC, Troy (Armijo High) Anderson produced a 27 point, 11 rebound double-double, Xavier (River City High) Francois did likewise with 12 and 10 and Jordan (Lodi High) Belasco passed out eight assists.

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* Foothill College 68 - Las Positas College 66

* American River College 61 - Sacramento City College 47

Moreau Catholic 73, Mewark Memorial 54

Tony Gonsalez game reports the Moreau Catholic victory Friday over Newark Memorial High plus on other East Bay prep matchups.

St. Francis 59, Serra 54

Glenn Reeves game reports the St. Francis High 59-54 success against host Serra High on Friday as Noah Stapes went for 25 points.

Santa Cruz High 59, St. Francis 58

Santa Cruz High had Kaijae Yee-Stephens back this time and although it required an overtime period, the Cardinals grabbed a 59-58 victory over host St. Francis (Watsonville) Friday night.

Andrew Matheson game reports.

Marysville wins again

From the Appeal-Democrat:

"Friday night's Golden Empire League matchup was a little too close to comfort for the Marysville High boys basketball, but the Indians were able to escape with a victory.

Marysville edged Mesa Verde 49-45 in Citrus Heights to improve to 21-1 overall and 6-1 in GEL play. The Indians trailed by nine points at halftime, but held the Mavericks to just 15 points in the second half to come away victorious.

Senior center Erik Scheive had another huge game for the Indians with 19 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks. Point guard Danny Lewis added 10 points, seven assists and three steals."

SPSV handles SJND

From the Times-Herald:

"The St. Patrick-St. Vincent High boys basketball team played strong defense in the fourth quarter on Friday night and ended up with a 51-39 home win over St. Joseph of Notre Dame.

The Bruins (18-4, 6-2) trailed at halftime 24-21, but outscored St. Joseph’s 16-4 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

“Our calling card this season has been our defense and it came through for us again,” St. Pat’s head coach Derek Walker said.

Leading the way for the Bruins was Tavian Henderson, who had 18 points. Marcus Oducado had 13 points, while B.J. Standley and Romeo Mays had seven rebounds each."

Placer 78, Bear River 55

Ike Dodson/Auburn Journal game reports the Placer High win over Bear Creek on Friday. Giovanni Roberts and Justin DiRuscio each scored 19 with 6-foot-8 Jeremy Lillis adding 11.

Singh points the way

Kerry Benefield profiles high-scoring Himansu Singh of Technology High.

Chico St. 64, CSLA 59

Jordan (Arcata High) Semple's stat sheet stuffing paved the way for Chico State to capture a 64-59 homecourt victory Friday, He totaled 10 points, 10 boards, three blocked shots, three steals and two assists. Teammates Robert (Granite Bay High) Duncan contributed 12 points with Isaiah (Antelope High) Ellis adding nine points plus six boards in just 18 minutes of court time.

Sharon Martin game reports.

The ChicoER offers game photos.

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CSS 53, Dominguez Hills 48

It wasn't pretty but Cal State Stanislaus will take its 53-48 success Friday against Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Brian VanderBeek game reports.

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Arizona 57, Oregon St. 34

Brandon Ashley finished with 12 points and six boards in Arizona's 57-34 victory over visiting Oregon State on Friday.

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Western Illinois 63, IUPUI 59

Western Illinois bested Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis 63-69 on Friday with the latter's Khufu Najee totaling 12 points, two rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes, He shot 5-7 overall.

Chaminade 79, Cal Baptist 75

It was Chaminade 79-75 over Cal Baptist last night in Honolulu despite 20 points plus six boards for guard Michael Smith. He shot 7-14 overall, 3-4 from beyond th arc.

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Dixie St. 86, Dominican 83

In San Rafael on Thursday, Dixie State pulled out an 86-83 victory over Dominican University. For the Penguins, Dom Taplin scored 23 points.

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California 76, WSU 67

In California's 76-67 win over Washington State on Thursday, Jabari Bird displayed a solid degree of healthiness with his 12 points and eight rebounds. He played 35 minutes.

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High School Roundup

Below are scores and game reports from last night:

* Howard Senzell was at the Montgomery victory over Cardinal Newman.

* Thomas Gase was present and accounted for in Vallejo's takedown of Bethel.

* James Burns recounts West Ranch's victory versus Lathrop High.

* A game from Wednesday: Bob Brownne covers the Tracy High success against West High.

Catching up on Tyler Idowu

From Paul Farmer:

"A once promising season has turned south for the Saint Martin’s University men’s basketball team, losers of six straight and eight of its last 10.

A bright spot for the Saints (5-14, 2-7 GNAC) is Rodriguez High grad Tyler Idowu, who’s led the team in scoring five times and in rebounding on six occasions.

The 6-foot-5, 205-pound senior forward’s best game was a double-double – 18 points and 14 rebounds, both season highs – in a 73-67 loss to Rollins College on Dec. 17.

He’s fourth on the team in scoring at 8.8 points and tops in rebounding at 5.4 per game. He also leads the Saints in blocked shots with 15.

In last week’s games, Idowu had 12 points, seven rebounds and a block in a 64-61 loss to Western Washington and 12 points, five rebounds and a block in a 97-87 loss to Simon Fraser."

He's out of Merritt College and Rodriguez High.

Williams aids Indian Hills victory

Indian Hills won again on Wednesday, 102-91, versus Iowa Western as sophomore Gary Williams Jr. provided a well-rounded eight points, eight assists and five steals.

Humboldt St. 81, Sonoma St. 73

Up  in the Land of the Redwoods, Humboldt State enjoyed five players with double figure scoring, including Tom (Diablo Valley College) Witzel's 15 points (5-6 shooting), in downing Sonoma State 81-73.

For the Seawolves, J.J. (Colorado State-Pueblo/Cosumnes River College) Mina went large with 24 points plus 12 boards and teammate Jabri (Salesian High) Jenkins added 16 points in 17 minutes of court time.

Humboldt State athletics game reports.

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San Berdoo 77, SF State 58

Down in San Bernardino, CSUSB bested San Francisco State 77-58 on Thursday. In the defeat, Udun (Fresno City College) Osakue filled the stats sheet with 22 points, nine boards, five assist and five steals.

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Sac St. 75, Montana St. 59

A strong second half carried Sacramento State to victory Thursday night against visiting Montana State. Mikh McKinney's line was 23 points, eight assists and five steals while backcourt mate Dylan Garrity totaled 18 points plus five assists. The latter now owns the overall assist record for the Hornet program.

Sac State athletics game reports.

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UC Davis 70, UC Santa Barbara 64

Up in Davis, the Aggies kept it rolling 70-64 versus Santa Barbara on Thursday. The Gauchos were paced by Michael Bryson's 18 points although he didn't shoot particular well while Gabe Vincent added 15.

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UC Irvine 67, Cal Poly 57

In Orange County last night, UC Irvine won both 20 minutes halves to turn back Cal Poly 67-57. Travis Souza was in front for the Anteaters with 17 points (5-8 shooting from distance) and Will Davis posted 14 points, eight boards and a pair of blocked shots.

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BYU 78, USF 74

In Provo, San Francisco came to town to challenge BYU and that is an apt description. The final score: 78-74 in favor of the Beehive Staters. Mark Tollefsen led the Dons with 22 points (10-14 shooting) and corralled seven rebounds.

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Hawaii 84, Cal St. Northridge 73

Hawaii came to the mainland on Thursday and took down Cal State Northridge 84-73. In the backcourt for UH, Roderick Bobbitt scored 12 points, passed for eight assists and pilfered three steals. Quincy Smith provided eight points plus four rebounds.

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Long Beach St. 91, Fullerton 85

Titan senior guard Alex Harris shot 5-10 from three-point range on his way to 28 points but it still wasn't enough as visiting Long Beach State won in overtime on Thursday.

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Pepperdine 50, Pacific 43

It just seemed like lids were atop both baskets as Pepperdine defeated host Pacific 50-43 last night. For the victors, Amadi Udenyi played 27 minutes off the bench and posted a team high six assists. Alec Kobre shot 3-7 for the Tigers to earn nine points and Dulani Robinson tallied four assists.

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St. Mary's 68, LMU 54

In Moraga on Thursday, St. Mary's handled Loyola Marymount 68-54 despite Brad Waldow producing 'just' 14 points and six rebounds in 40 minutes. Desmond Simmons went for eight and six respectively.

It was a remarkable game for assists as the Gaels achieved 18 assists on 24 baskets while the Lions were an even higher percentage at 20-22.

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Montana 73, Portland St. 54

It was close, 32-31, at halftime but then Montana went 'en fuego' and won going away in the City of Roses on Thursday. Mario Dunn supplied 12 points plus six assists and was perfect in his shooting: 3-3 overall, 2-2 from long distance and 4-4 at the foul line.

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UCLA 69, Utah 59

It seems just a short while ago that Utah was surging and UCLA was folding but the Bruins topped the Utes 69-59 in Pauley Pavilion on Thursday. Delon Wright provided 15 points and six boards but had four TOs.

Box

Louisiana Tech 69, Western Kentucky 56

Down in Ruston, Louisiana Tech took care of Western Kentucky 69-56 on Thursday despite freshman guard D.J. Clayton contributing 10 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Hilltoppers.

South Carolina Upstate 78, Jacksonville 65

Host Jacksonville fell by 13 to South Carolina Upstate despite Kori Babineaux totaling 22 points, six boards, two assists and two steals.

Northern Colorado 79, Idaho State 76

Northern Colorado got past Idaho State by three last night as senior wing Dominique Lee came close to a double-double with his 12 points and nine rebounds plus he added four steals.

High Point 72, Liberty 53

High Point bopped Liberty 72-53 last night with the northern California highlight of note being Theo Johnson 's 12 points and three assists in the losing cause.

Cal Maritime 90, Pacific Union 87

From The Times-Herald:

The Cal Maritime men’s basketball team edged host Pacific Union, 90-87, in overtime on Thursday in a California Pacific Conference thriller.

Kameron Hoyt finished with 17 points and Levi Strandberg had 14.

Roman Delgado and Dominique Barnes had 12 points each. Zach Davis and Clayton White each had 10 points.

Down by three points in regulation, Strandberg hit a 3-pointer to tie the game. In overtime, Delgado hit a tough shot in the lane to put the Keelhaulers ahead.

Hogan High graduate Jordan Greenwell had 16 points and eight boards for Pacific Union.

CMA improved to 11-9 overall, 3-1 in the conference. Pacific Union is now 3-1 in the conference too.

Nor Cal JC scores from Wednesday night

Below are the scores from last night involving Nor Cal JC teams:

* Cañada College 77 - Foothill 61 box

For CC, it was 18 points apiece from Crisshawn Clark and Rohndell (West High) Goodwin plus a 14 rebound, 13 point effort from Manny Martin.

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* Monterey Peninsula College 87 - Gavilan College 62 box

For MPC, Devin (Dublin High) Koeplin and Isaac Clark each scored 17 points. The former shot 5-7 from beyond the arc.

From Gavilan Basketball: "RJ Collins with 24 points to lead the Rams. Collins has knocked down Sixteen 3 point shots in the last three games."

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* Yuba College 102 - College of Alameda 85

From Yuba College Men's Basketball: "Yuba puts up triple digits again on the road with a 102-85 win at Alameda. Down 56-53 with 12 minutes to go the 49'ers started pressing and took the game under control. Yuba was lead by Jojo Zamora and his 28 points. Manny Malou finished with 18 points, 14 rebs and 7 blocks."

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* Fresno City College 97 - Merced College 65

From The Fresno Bee: "Fresh off its No. 1 ranking among the state’s junior college men’s basketball teams, Fresno City College routed Merced 97-65 on Wednesday in a Central Valley Conference game. BJ Shelton scored a game-high 17 points and Nick Hilton added 14 for the Rams. Fresno City (22-3, 6-0) extended its winning streak to 13 games. The Rams had five players score in double figures, with Tyeler Morgan adding 14, Kyle Ingram 12 and Liam O’Reilly 10. Hilton made four 3-pointers."

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* College of Marin 65 - Contra Costa College 60

From Contra Costa College Men's Basketball: "The Comets dropped a heartbreaker 65-60 to #6 College Of Marin. The Comets held a five point lead at halftime but went ice cold in the 2nd half, converting only 28% of their field goal attempts and shooting only 9/18 from the free throw line after the break. G Dawson Johnson led the Comets with 14 pts, while G Jebraile Newkirk added 13 pts and 6 rebounds."

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* DeAnza College 67 - Cabrillo College 61

From Cabrillo College Basketball:

"The Cabrillo Men's Basketball Team took to the road to battle the DeAnza Dons and for the second year in a row DeAnza proved to be too much for Cabrillo on their home floor. The game started out slow as neither team was able to get much going offensively. Latrell Wilson was the lone bright spot on offense for Cabrillo in the early goings as he would score the first 8 points of the game for the Seahawks and finish with 12 in the half. Cabrillo was limited to just 21 points in the first stanza, fortunately for them, DeAnza wasn't much better scoring 25 and holding a four point advantage, 25-21.

The second half saw a much different display as both teams started hitting shots, DeAnza got hot from behind the arch and saw their lead get up to as many as 14 before a furious Seahawk rally cut the lead to 4, 60-56 with just under one minute to play. DeAnza made big free-throws down the stretch to keep Cabrillo at arms length and eventually gutted out a 67-61 win. Allen Wilcher led Cabrillo in scoring with 24 and Wilson finished with 16 as they were the only two Cabrillo players in double figures. The loss drops Cabrillo to 11-10 on the season and 3-3 in conference play."

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* City College of San Francisco 78 - Las Positas College 66

From Las Positas Men's Basketball:

"A series of 8-0 runs in the second half did in the Hawks on Wednesday night.

On three separate occasions, City College of San Francisco blitzed LPC by scoring 8 consecutive points en route to a 78-66 victory in a Coast Conference North Division game in Livermore.

Jayson Rose led the Hawks (12-10, 1-5) with 14 points, while teammate Cameron Moses added 11 and Giordi V'soske had 10.

CCSF (15-7, 4-2, ranked #13 in the state and #7 in Northern California) led 38-32 at halftime, and after Rose started the second half with a three-pointer, the Rams went on their first 8-0 run to build their lead to 46-35.

However, the LPC second string entered and immediately scored the game's next 11 points on a Donovan Grant three, two threes by V'soske, and a layup by Tyler Hall to pull the Hawks even at 46-46.

Eight straight points by CCSF allowed the Rams to surge ahead midway through the half, and it was 58-52 before Moses converted a three-point play, cutting LPC's deficit to 58-55 with 6:47 remaining.

Once again, CCSF countered by scoring 8 points in a row, this time making the score 66-55 with 4:53 left and effectively putting the Hawks away."

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* San Jose City College 68 - West Valley College 56 box

For SJCC, Junior Anderson went for 23 points while teammate Maurice Joiner just missed a double-double with 14 points plus nine boards.

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* Napa Valley College 73 - Merritt College 69 OT

From NVC Basketball: "Great team OT win tonight @nvcollege ! NVC 73 Merritt 69. C Burrell with 20 & 5 clutch FTs. T Rojas w/ 14&10. B Jazuk w/ 11. E Moore 7&7&5."

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* Solano College 79 - Los Medanos College 45

From The Times-Herald: "The Solano College men’s basketball team beat visiting Los Medanos, 79-45, on Wednesday in a Bay Valley Conference game.
Benicia High graduate Koree Cox finished with 18 points and Kyle Osterstock added 12 points for Solano."

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* Chabot College 69 - Ohlone College 54

From Chabot Men's Basketball: "Chabot starts fast and rolls past Ohlone 67-52.
Great team play led to a very balanced offensive effort tonight: Raymond Baldwin 18, Shanquel Watson 13, Noel Briones 9 (three 3s), Kellen Sweetwyne 9,
Austin Medeiros 8, Adrian Crump 5 pts & 13 rebs, Khalil James 5 pts & 10 assists, Shane Haley 2."

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* College of the Redwoods 79 - Shasta College 58

For the victors, Justin (Fortuna High) Claus led with 20 points.

Danny Penza game reports.

High School Roundup

Below are various score/game reports from Wednesday 's prep matchups:

* From the Appeal-Democrat:

"The Marysville High boys basketball team, ranked 20th in the latest Sacramento Bee Top 20 released on Tuesday, closed out its first cycle of Golden Empire League play with a 75-61 victory over West Campus in Sacramento on Tuesday night.

Daniel Pelechowicz led the Indians with 20 points and Danny Lewis added 19 of his own with five assists. Cornell Greenwood tacked on 12 points for Marysville, which improved to 20-1 overall and 5-1 in GEL play."

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Ian Ross game reports on play in the Marin County Athletic League.

Sidney still trying

Rob Dauster brings back the world of Renaldo Sidney, today and yesterday. May the one-time major, major prospect finally douse his demons and get to achieving what remains within his capability.

Malik Thames this season

Here are sophomore guard Malik (Pleasant Grove High) Thames' numbers for this season at Central Arizona College:

* 20 games, 20 starts, 27.9 minutes
* 17.2 point per contest
* shooting 44%, 44% and 89%
* 5.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists an outing

Last season:

* 13.3 points
* 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists
* shooting 46% overall, 37% from long distance and 79% from the foul line

Elliott Smith this season

Last Thursday, 6-foot-6 freshman Elliott (Freedom High) Smith scored 23 points to aid Harcum College's 108-106 victory over Manor College back in Pennsylvania. On the season for his Pennsylvania-based team that is averaging 95 points an outing, Smith is contributing 13.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 48%, 30% and 78% respectively. It looks like he was 'placed' there by Florida International so expect him to be in the Sunshine State sooner or later.

Bettering the offense in D!

Phil Kasiecki offers a lengthy post about the challenges in DI offensive play. Scoring doesn't appear to be a problem in the other divisions which makes this situation even stranger.

This week's Titus Top 12

Mr. Titus is back -- here's but a stylized snippet:

"...in college basketball, every team uses its preferred brand of basketball for home games. This means that a team playing a stretch of three out of four games on the road could end up using balls that are different in both feel and bounce in four straight games. How has this never been addressed? How has the NCAA not mandated that every team use the same brand and model of ball? Or at the very least, why don’t conferences make their teams play league games with an official game ball? Wisconsin fans will tell you that the Buzzcuts are so tough to beat at home because of their raucous crowd and Bo Ryan’s coaching genius, and they’re not wrong. But Wisconsin’s home success might also have something to do with how it’s always freezing inside the Kohl Center and the school’s ball of choice is a lopsided turd encased in hard plastic, polished with a tub of K-Y Jelly and stuck in an icebox for 72 hours before tipoff..."

Pat Forde on the state of college hoops

Pat Forde speaketh (actually writes):

"COLLEGE BASKETBALL’S BIG PROBLEM

Jay Bilas is the leading television voice in the sport – a smart, outspoken and fully confident guy who has both played and coached the game. And Jay Bilas basically says college basketball sucks right now.

Actually, “unwatchable” is the modifier he’s often used. He has a point.

Here is the biggest problem as it relates to the game as a whole: it is ugly and slow and unskilled.

Here is an ancillary problem specific to this season: the two teams currently atop the rankings aren’t helping..."

More press for Payton

Connor Letourneau profiles Gary Payton II who has moved from complementary type status to team leader.

Rabb named to McDonald's squad

Ivan Rabb has been named to the 2015 McDonald's All-America team.

Seton Hall 80, Marquette 70

Host Marquette fell to Seton Hall Wednesday night 80-70. Juan Anderson contributed 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals for the Milwaukee crew. He shot 2-3 from long distance.

Lafayette 59, Colgate 54

Sparked by guard Bryce Scott's nine points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals, Lafayette bested Colgate 59-54 last night.

Arizona St. 73, Oregon St. 55

Oregon State, the team with momentum, fell last night to host Arizona State 73-55 despite getting 23 points from Gary Payton II.

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Stanford 84, Washington 74

Up in Seattle last night, Stanford trumped Washington 78-65. For the Huskies, Darin Johnson provided 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.

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Arizona 90, Oregon 56

In Tucson, Arizona took it to Oregon in both 20 minute sessions last night and finished with a 90-56 victory. Brandon Ashley totaled 13 points, four rebounds and two assists during his 24 minutes on the floor.

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Prolific Prep tourney this weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

From the Napa Register:

Prolific Prep Academy, a Napa-based boys basketball team that has been competing in tournaments across the country since mid-October, will hold the second of its three weekends of home games at Napa Valley College next weekend.

At 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30, Prolific Prep — which features the No. 1 junior in the country in Josh Jackson — will host Planet Athlete of Scottsdale, Ariz.

On Saturday, Jan. 31, after Planet Athlete takes on Simpson Academy of Northern California at 4 p.m., Prolific Prep will host Balboa City Schools of San Diego at 6 p.m.

Balboa has the No. 1 sophomore in the country, 6-foot-11 DeAndre Ayton.

“Ayton is a legit beast, skilled and with a strong body,” Prolific Prep founder Jeremy Russotti said. “We probably won’t be able to handle him, but it should be a good game against them and a sight to see live. This may be the biggest basketball game ever to come to Napa, and probably won’t happen again, with two No. 1’s in the same gym.”

On Sunday, Feb. 1, after Planet Athlete takes on Balboa at 10 a.m., Prolific Prep will take on Simpson Academy at noon.

The weekend is a big fundraiser for Prolific Prep. Admission will be $10 for adults and $5 for ages 18 and younger. Those wearing a neon-green Prolific Prep T-shirt, which was sold at the team’s previous home games, will get in free. More of the shirts will be sold on Friday, and would cover admission for all five weekend games.

Where next for Akognon?

From David Pick: "Shooter Josh Akognon, a free-agent next week, is averaging 30.7 points per in China. No D-League for him, I'm told."

McKinney or Harvey?

Big Sky Basketball goes long on choosing between Sacramento State's Mikh McKinney and Eastern Washington's Tyler Harvey.

Johnson back up

The Miami Heat have called up Tyler Johnson on a 10-day contract, league sources tell RealGM.

Johnson comes from the D-League's Sioux Falls Skyforce, where he averaged 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 15 games.

Johnson was on a 10-day contract with the Heat earlier this month.

Think about it. One day you're in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the next in Miami, Florida. Talk about a change in culture, temperature and contract.

JC games scores from Tuesday night

Below are the scores from Tuesday night games involving northern California teams:

* Cosumnes River College 69 - Santa Rosa Junior College 58 box

For CRC, Mitchell (Burbank High) Love was in front with both 22 points and seven assists plus six rebounds while David (Burbank High) Straughter just missed a double-double at 19 points and nine boards. Donald (Center High) Mims recorded five blocks in 26 minutes.

For SRJC, Corey (Cardinal Newman High) Hammell paced the scoring with 17 points, Davone (Castlemont High) Oliver finished with 15 and Siann (Concord High) Rojas contributed 10.

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* Sierra College 90 - Sacramento City College 72 box

For SCC, freshman guard Kellen (Rodriguez High) Hill led with 15 points and added four rebounds plus three assists.

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* Diablo Valley College 78 - Modesto Junior College 40

From The Modesto Bee:

"The Modesto Junior College Pirates concluded the first half of the Big 8 Conference basketball season with a performance they would rather forget.

Diablo Valley netted 16 three-pointers, eight in each half, and raced to an easy 78-40 win over the Pirates (5-14, 2-5 Big 8) on Tuesday night. Modesto trailed 39-18 at halftime and managed only three points in the first 12 minutes of the second half.

The Vikings (12-10, 4-3), who placed third in the MJC Tournament last month, featured Jelani Hardaway with 26 points, 18 of them via triples.

“They got hot tonight, and there was nothing we could do,” MJC coach Paul Brogan said.

Marko Lepovic scored 10 points for the Pirates..."

+++++++

* American River College 68 - San Joaquin Delta College 57

Fred Wilson on various underrated Sacramento area prospects

You won't find much about Fred Wilson on-line and that's the way he wants it. The fourth year boys basketball coach at West Campus High and co-founder of the Blue Collar Preps organization isn't out for fame. His mission is improving the basketball opportunities for youngsters in and around the Sacramento area, period. His motto: "I do it because it was done for me."

In talking with Wilson recently, he touched upon a number of area hoops prospects, primarily kids who don't have their name in the headlines but will earn a scholarship be it at the DI or DII level.

Alphabetically:

Keshawn Bruner, 6-foot-2, sophomore, Burbank High

"He can handle the ball, rebound, shoot -- there's a lot he can do on both sides of the ball and he averaged a double-double on the varsity as a freshman." In 15 games this season, Bruner is scoring  20 points and grabbing eight rebounds a game.

Zachary Chappell, 6-foot-2, freshman, Capital Christian

"He's a 6-foot-2 point playing varsity, he's definitely one of the kids we'll be talking about. He can shoot, defend and handle. with a high basketball IQ, great athleticism and a real nice change of direction. He has long arms, can shoot and dunk is is crafty with the ball, great vision."

Kevin Dent, 6-foot-4, senior, West Campus High

"A combo guard with a nice mid-range shot and an improving distance shot, he aggressively attacks the rim, takes good angles on defense and has long arms. He's had a great month for us averaging 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Chico State and Cal State Monterey Bay are looking and Simpson has offered."

Vontae Grant, 5-foot-9, senior, Hiram Johnson High

"He has been a solid guard for a long time and been averaging 15-20 points a game for the varsity since his sophomore year. It's a struggling program and he takes a volume of shots but he hits them. He 's good defensively, plays with a ton of heart and people should be watching him."

Teigan Jones, 6-foot-3, junior, Capital Christian High

"A lefty, who can shoot from long range and get to the basket and dunk in traffic. He's very athletic."

Brett Lynch, 6-foot-1, senior, Mesa Verde High

"Cal Poly Pomona, Chico State, Humboldt State, Fresno Pacific and others all like him. He competes at a high level and his vision is at the next level. He can shoot it and score."

Matthew Manning, 6-foot-5, junior, Sheldon High

"He's a super stud baseball player but also the best shooter in the area for basketball."

Tyus Millhollin, 5-foot-9, junior Oak Ridge High

"A tough as nails, old school point who is fast and shows good vision. Knock him to the ground and he'll bump you on the way down the court. He loves big shots. He can be going 100%, drop to 70% like he's going to take a mid-range jumper and go back to 100% in the blink of an eye."

Marcus Muccular, 6-foot-2, senior, West Campus High

"He's 6-foot-2 and really stocky and strong so he plays like someone 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6. He handles the ball decently and rebounds well with great footwork, with three games this seasons with 10 points and rebounds. With a 4.1 grade point average, he could earn an academic scholarship and save an athletic one. Simpson has offered and other NAIA and DII schools are looking."

Erik Scheive, 6-foot-10, senior, Marysville High

"With good hands and footwork, he's averaging a double-double (17 points and 11 rebounds a contest) and five blocks a game. There are a lot of JCs after him and he may need that bridge." That's to add weight and strength.

DeAndre Stallings, 6-foot-6, senior, Liberty Ranch High

"The surest shooter in our area -- when he misses, it's great looking misses. He's real smooth, with long arms and the quickest release. To me, he's a mid-to-low major DI player." Stallings is averaging 26 point per game this season.

Gabriel Torres, 6-foot-1 senior, Pioneer High

"I've watched him for two or three years. He's averaging 27 points a game and is 5-foot-10 or 5-foot-11 but plays like he is 6-foot-6. He has the green light to shoot and they run him off like 100 screens because he doesn't have separation moves. Just imagine his condition. He has been on fire this season."

A new sort of Dame?

Player comparisons are inherently unfair because each individual talent stands on his own merit. After having typed that (and I will phrase the following carefully), can Sacramento State's Mikh McKinney join Damian Lillard and prosper as yet another guard coming from the Big Sky Conference to the National Basketball Association?

Hmmmmmm:

Lillard is 6-foot-3 195 and McKinney is, let's say, a 6-footer, 170. Granted, there have been very few players the weight of the latter in the NBA.

Lillard averaged 24.5 points per game during his junior season, finishing second in the nation. He then turned pro and became the sixth pick in the 2012 draft..

As a senior, McKinney is scoring 18.8 points on 13 shots a game. He's shooting 54%, 41% and 77% respectively. Add 5.3 assists, 2.7 steals an outing and the simply-must-be-acknowledged ability to carry his team.

In a way though, no numbers really matter for any prospect as the question boils down to this: can he add enough value to an NBA team?

McKinney, in a somewhat similar vein to Lillard, was pretty much ignored by four year recruiters coming out of high school. After a redshirt year and then a season of basketball at Ohlone College, he mysteriously still wasn't in any sort of great demand. His offers weren't multiple.

McKinney candidly admits to being a different player and person than he was in his prep days and very grateful for having been coached by John Peterson and Brian Katz.

How this eventually goes down is going to be fascinating. There might be a few college coaches, had they signed him, still coaching where they were when McKinney was available to them or maybe even being in better positions elsewhere.

Thomas raking in the bucks on the gridiron

Former Tokay High basketball player Julius Thomas is about to receive a major contract from the Denver Broncos to continue on as their tight end. He has caught 24 touchdowns in the past two seasons.

Glenn posts near double-double-double

Former Cañada College player Marquis Glenn, a 6-foot-4 junior now at University of Maine Fort Kent, had an outstanding game last Saturday -- 19 points plus 17 rebounds -- against University of Middlebury.

Fresno City College #1

In the weekly poll of the state's coaches, Fresno City College is now in the top spot.

Nor Cal squads in the overall Top 10 are: San Jose City College #3, College of Marin #6, Merritt College #8 and Cañada College #9.

Austin honored

Paris Austin is the CalHiSports Nor Cal Prep Player of the Week:

Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Boys Basketball Player of the Week
Paris Austin (Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland) Sr.

While everyone knows about Mr. Basketball favorite Ivan Rabb of the Dragons, another big reason they are No. 1 in the state is because of this Boise State-bound senior who set two school records during a 108-77 win last week over Piedmont.

Looking like he was participating in a 3-point shootout, Austin knocked down 12 shots from beyond the 3-point line and finished with 43 points. He set school records for both totals and his 12 3-pointers gets him into the state record book.

The previous school record was 41 points for one game which was set in 1990 by Jasen Powell. Rabb’s career-high is a 40-point game during his sophomore season.

More press for Delon Wright

Chris Foster/Los Angeles Times provides some background on Delon Wright and his older, NBA-playing brother.

Henderson honored

Thomas Gase features St. Patrick-St. Vincent talent Tavian Henderson. The sophomore was just named the Times-Herald Athlete of the Week.

Cardinal Newman 60, Casa Grande 54

Missed this from Monday night: Howard Senzell game reports the Cardinal Newman - Casa Grande High matchup. His opening line indicates what transpired:

"Cardinal Newman rallied from a six-point deficit in the final 40 seconds to defeat Casa Grande, 60-54, before a standing-room only crowd Monday night at the Cardinals’ gym..."

San Diego State 58, Fresno St. 47

Each team shot below 40% on Tuesday night but San Diego State earned 19 more free throw attempts and garnered 12 more rebounds in turning back visiting Fresno State 58-47. Dakarai Allen contributed five boards plus three points, Malik Pope four and three.

Box

Michigan 58, Nebraska 44

Michigan downed Nebraska last night 58-44 with freshman Aubrey Dawkins playing 32 minutes and scoring 13 points for the Ann Arbor-ites. He shot 3-3 from beyond the arc.

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Utah St. 56, Wyoming 44

In Logan, Utah State grabbed a surprise victory over Wyoming Tuesday night 56-44. For the victors, Chris Smith tallied 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. He shot 3-4 from long distance. Teammate JoJo McGlaston went for five points, five boards, two assists and two blocked shots.

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Kent St. 63, Central Michigan 55

The Golden Flashes (gotta love that name) of Kent State bested fellow conference member Central Michigan 63-55 Tuesday night as junior guard Dev Manley went for 16 points plus three boards.

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Coach Frank Knight on his Moreau Catholic team

Frank Knight heads the Moreau Catholic High program and led his team to 27-7 overall, 11-3 Mission Valley League records last season when his best players were underclassmen. The squad made it all the way to the state championship game before falling to Bishop Montgomery.

Now his top talents are three juniors and a sophomore and 2014-15 play thus far has resulted in a 13-5, 6-0 marks, including victories over Drake, Modesto Christian and Archbishop Mitty amidst a schedule matching the Mariners up with a number of national programs.

Below is a Q-and-A with Knight:

Q - Was there a different mental preparation for this season with the kids seeing as they are a year older and also more targeted by opponents because of the success of last year?

Frank Knight: We knew and expressed to the players continually that it would be a major difference in how teams prepared and played against us this year compared to last. I told our team, "Its no fun when the rabbit gets the gun." That there is a difference between being the hunter and the hunted and to expect every team's best game when they play us. So we try to practice with that type of intensity knowing that it will have to translate to our game performance. Secondly, with this team going through last season and now knowing the expectations and level of play thats needed to get to or win a state title and the maturation of the majority of the team from last year also helps when we want to add more schemes and rotations. They are a young but veteran team.

Q - How do you as their coach work with the kids in preventing not looking for better individual stats as they are gaining recruiting interest?

Frank Knight: It's not very hard. These guys have known each other and played against each other most of their lives. We told them last year right before we went on our run to the state championship that if we sacrificed our personal goals just for the next four weeks we would have a chance to win it all and with that chance will also come more opportunities to be recruited and evaluated. It was a win-win. The better we played as a team and the farther we advanced, the better it would be for them individually. They bought in. I know that many of them have the desire to play college basketball so we tell them from Nov-March let's play for each other, the name on the front of our jerseys, and in the summer you can garner extra recruiting interest.

Q - Did you schedule differently this season due to your team having greater experience?

Frank Knight: Last season, when we were preparing for Bishop Montgomery in the state final we noticed that for us Bishop Montgomery was by far the best team we had played all season. But if you look at their schedule they had played several teams that were as good as us. So I set out to schedule a pre-season that gave us the opportunity to play teams that are very good so if we do make it to that game again we would have played a few teams that were as good as them.

Q - MC doesn't have a power player inside a la an Ivan Rabb -- how do you defend teams who do plus what do you do offensively to play to your strengths?

Frank Knight: When we deal with teams with bigs we try to attack their weakness and not focus on what we don't have. We know we don't have bigs but what we do have is a very athletic and experienced team that's fast and has great lateral movement. We try to force our opponents to play to our advantages, not to theirs.

Q - As a coach of high schoolers, what aspect of that relationship is the hardest to deal with nowadays?

Frank Knight: The toughest thing to deal with is the constant change of social media and blogs. Players have lots of access to information. Articles about our team or them especially and on blogs where people can critique their game or their team. It becomes a thing I need to stay on top of because it can sway the intentions of our guys. It's a plethora of team rankings, player rankings, aau team rankings, league and section rankings, that sometimes it seems like they chase the numbers. We try to minimize all of the media rankings as something that has nothing to do with us or things we can't control. We focus on what we can control.

Q - What is your MO for dealing with parents who might just want to have too much say in how much and at what position their child plays?

Frank Knight: Parents typically have their kids' best interest at the center of their opinions. I understand that because I have sons who play sports also. What I try to do is show them, like our players, the personal benefits of playing together, or playing a certain role. At the end of the day how can everyone get what they want? How can your son get a college scholarship and play in our system at the same time? With winning and playing together comes more opportunities to be evaluated.

As if ESPN doesn't have the money

Phil Kasiecki writes that the Prairie View A&M - Arkansas-Pine Bluff game last night wasn't shown as scheduled on ESPN. As he explains, it wasn't because of any circumstances in Arkansas but rather the weather in Connecticut. This was supposed to be another of those games where the announcers call it remotely.

Waldow impressing

Mark Kramer is going with Brad Waldow as his Mid-Season Player of the Year in the West Coast Conference.

Mark Ziegler writes more about what was hopefully Malik Pope's breakout performance last week. One quote:

“I had a little anger in me, because we came out and got punched,” said Pope, whose Aztecs trailed by 17 less than eight minutes into the game. “It just wasn’t OK. I don’t know, something in me just came out that game.

McGlaston turning the corner

It was a rough start for sophomore JoJo McGlaston early this season at Utah State. Fans were let's just say 'disappointed' by his production in their message board expressions. Possessing the most athletic ability of any Aggie player, the channeling of such into a commensurate level of effecting the game was absent.

Until recently.

Working backwards, here are McGlaston's statistics since coming on:

* 10 rebounds, nine points, three assists in 31 minutes at UNLV

* Eight points, five assists, three rebounds in 23 minutes against Nevada

* Nine points, four rebounds, two assists in 22 minutes versus Air Force.

The previous game, New Mexico, was a DNP.

For the season, he's shooting 32%, 37% and 62% respectively while averaging 6.3 points and 3.3 rebounds a contest. His 32 assists are third on the team.

The keys is that those numbers are now heading upward and he is making plays whose positive outcome don't always necessarily appear in his box score line.

STLB goes Ram tough again

Signal The Light Hoops again has Fresno City College on top in its weekly ranking of northern California junior college teams.

Harvey & McKinney named PoW

Mikh McKinney of Sacramento State and Tyler Harvey of Eastern Washington have been named Big Sky Conference Co-Players of the Week.

The guess here is both will be named Co-Conference Players of the Year but maybe it should go to whichever player's team finishes in first place.

Bay Area prep team rankings

Chris Jackson/HS Sports Daily serves up this week's Bay Area team basketball rankings with Moreau Catholic High in the #2 spot behind Bishop O'Dowd.

Green named Big Eest Conference Player of the Week

UC Santa Barbara's John Green is the Big West Conference Player of the Week and good for him.

Cañada's win on Friday

Terry Bernal/The Daily Journal recaps the Cañada victory Friday night over City College of San Francisco.

Hawkins leading Aggie resurgence

Matthew Thomas goes long on UC Davis points producer Corey Hawkins.

Taplin named Player of the Week in PacWest Conference

Player of the Week – Dominique Taplin (Dominican)
G, Sr., Alameda, Calif./Oakland

Taplin averaged 24.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for the Penguins. He shot 60.7 percent from the field (17-28) and 84.6 percent from the free throw line (11-13). He scored a season-best 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting against No. 24 BYU-Hawaii. He then nearly filed a triple-double with 20 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists in a win over Chaminade. His 18 rebounds set a Dominican Division II record. Taplin ranks fifth in the PacWest in rebounding (7.4 rpg) and eighth in scoring (15.9 ppg).

The ten best college players in the Bay Area

Jon Wilner serves up his list of the Top 10 basketball talents in the Bay Area collegiate ranks.

Iowa State 89, Texas 86

Host Iowa State was three points better than Texas last night winning 89-86. For the Longhorns, Isaiah Taylor posted a line of 17 points, eight assists and three rebounds. Plus, zero turnovers.

Prolific Prep tourney this weekend

Andy Wilcox highlights the upcoming (this weekend) showcase Prolific Prep is putting on this weekend plus some of the Bay Area talents who will be playing..

Reid to be honored

From John Reid: "Tough to keep a secret. Receiving Distinguished Service Award from the Central Coast Section on Wednesday. Thanks to all parties involved."

Tennessee Tech 83, Eastern Kentucky 81

On Saturday, Tennessee Tech topped Eastern Kentucky by two, 83-81, aided by an 18 point, 10 rebound double-double from Charles (Lassen College) Jackson. He shot 8-10 from the floor and grabbed five offensive and five defensive boards.

Williams with 30

Indian Hills College lost a lead and eventually the game (134-128 in OT) but Gary Williams did his part with a career-high 30 points, including 10-12 from the foul line.

Here's the link..

The trio: Briggs, Alexander and Osayande

Casper (WY) College has a trio of northern California talents and here's how they are performing this season:

* 6-foot-7 freshman Shon (Heritage High) Briggs - 24 minutes, 11.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists a game, shooting 49%, 30% and 61% respectively.

* 6-foot-4 sophomore Dylan (San Jose State University/Weston Ranch High) Alexander - 20.7 minutes, 10.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists a game, shooting 46%, 39% and 81% respectively.

* 6-foot-9 freshman Benson (Franklin High) Osayande  - 9.5 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, shooting 55% and 67% respectively.

The seasons thus far for Jamir Andrews and Kyi Thomas

Here are the latest numbers for sophomores Jamir (Dublin High) Andrews and Kyi (Sheldon High) Thomas of Sheridan (WY) College:

Andrews: 17.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists in 28 minutes a game, shooting 44%, 40% and 82% respectively. He has signed with Bowling Green.

Thomas: 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists in 23 minutes a game, shooting 50%, 35% and 76% respectively.

Love in double figures

Up at Whitworth College in Washington, 6-foot-1 sophomore Kenny (Cardinal Newman High) Love is enjoying a very solid season. Try 11.1 points, 2.9 assists and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 45%, 47% and 82% respectively.

Pacos integral to NW Christian's success

Northwest Christian's Travis (De La Salle) Pacos is averaging 10.8 points and 3.3 rebounds a game this season while shooting 53%, 44% and 65% respectively. He leads his team in steals with 48 and owns a 46/15 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Caldwell and the Salinas connection

John Devine noting the play of Arthur Caldwell:

"The former Salinas High forward  has become a scoring demon at Butte College.

The 6-foot-5 Caldwell is seventh in the state in scoring at 19.6 points a game. The sophomore is shooting 55.6 percent from the field and leads the team in rebounds at 7.1

Caldwell’s coach is former Salinas High guard and one-time ABA sharpshooter Russ Critchfield, who played for the Oakland Oaks along side Rick Barry."

Velasco leads

On Saturday, the University of Mary turned back Minnesota Duluth 75-71 paced by Jaycob (Cosumnes River College/Pleasant Valley High) Velasco's 24 points. In 21 minutes, he shot 10-15 overall, 2-4 from beyond the arc.

The latest on Reeves Nelson

From David Pick: "Israeli second-division team, I'm told, opting out of short-lived pact with forward Reeves Nelson."

Murry from three

Chris (West Valley College/Kennedy High) Murray was 'en fuego' Friday night for William Jessup University:

The Warriors earned their first ever GSAC road victory beating San Diego Christian College 68-58. William Jessup was led by junior guard Chris Murry who set a new school record for most three point shots made in a game connecting on nine out of his 12 attempts and surpassing Anthony Anderson who had made eight against Bethany University in 2011.

The Warriors looked sluggish as the game opened, appearing to be the better team but failing to get the basketball to fall through the hoop and soon found themselves in a six point deficit. Slowly but steadily they spent the rest of the half digging themselves out in order to travel to the locker room with a 10 point lead.

The second half was the polar opposite for the Warriors as they came out of the gate guns blazing andjumping to a 20 point lead which would be the largest they would earn that night. What the Warriors failed to do; though, was deal the San  Diego Christian Hawks a crushing blow. Over the course of the last ten minutes of the game battled back to within single digits with two minutes remaining in the game. Nine points would be the smallest William Jessup would allow the gap to reach before they flexed their defense and closed out the contest with a ten point victory.

With no surprises, Chris Murry received the game ball for the evening's match as he led the Warriors with a career high 30 points..."

Biola Kurtz-powered

Boosted by 20 points plus 12 boards from Mike (UC Davis/Woodcreek High) Kurtz, Biola took a win Saturday versus The Master's College.

Vanguard 69, Concordia 57

Stephen (Foothill College/Serra High) Grosey's 13 points and nine boards helped but Concordia still fell to Vanguard University 69-57 on Saturday.

Pomona-Pitzer 58, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 57

Tyler (Branson School) Gaffaney went for 24 points, six rebounds and three assists but CMS still fell to Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday 58-57.

Smith powers Cal Baptist

Michael (El Camino High) Smith provided 17 points plus eight boards in Cal Baptist's Saturday 69-65 success against Point Loma.

CB is now 15-2 overall, 9-1 in the PacWest Conference this season under Coach Rick Croy.

McKinney & Hawkins

Bill Paterson offers coverage of a couple of college guards up Sacramento way and asks the 'best ever' at their respective schools question.

Devine on Basor and Rogers

John Devine noting the play of a former Watsonville High/Monterey Peninsula College player plus one who isn't playing any longer:

"A change in personnel on the court has created more minutes for former Monterey Peninsula College forward Ivo Basor at San Jose State.

The 6-foot-8 junior has started eight games and appeared in 13 for the Spartans, averaging 21 minutes a night.

Basor is shooting 51 percent from the field, averaging 4.4 points a game. He’s provided a presence in the paint on defense, as he is second on the team in rebounds at 4.6.

Former Salinas High forward Frank Rogers is no longer a member of the Spartans."